Pizza Margherita: The Queen's Pizza, Naples' Gift to the World

Naples, 1889. Queen Margherita of Savoy is visiting the city, and she is bored of the rich French cuisine served at the royal palace. She sends for Raffaele Esposito, the most celebrated pizzaiolo in Naples, and asks him to make something local, something authentically Neapolitan. He makes three pizzas. The one she loves best is topped with tomato, mozzarella, and basil — the colors of the Italian flag. He names it in her honor. Or so the story goes. Whether completely true or partly legend, this is the origin story that every Neapolitan tells with pride, and every pizza carries with it to this day.

Pizza itself predates the Margherita by centuries. Flatbreads topped with oil and herbs were eaten in Naples as far back as the 16th century, and the first pizza with tomato appears in the early 18th century, after the tomato — brought from the Americas — finally shed its reputation in Europe as a poisonous fruit. By the 19th century, Naples had professional pizzaioli and dedicated pizza shops. The pizza Margherita arrived at the perfect moment: a newly unified Italy needed symbols, and a patriotic pizza in the national colors was exactly that. In 2017, the art of Neapolitan pizza-making (l'arte del pizzaiolo napoletano) was inscribed by UNESCO on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — a recognition that places the skills of the Neapolitan pizza-maker alongside traditional Chinese medicine, Mongolian eagle hunting, and the rites of the Carnival of Venice.

The science of Neapolitan pizza dough is deceptively simple: flour, water, salt, yeast — and time. The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (True Neapolitan Pizza Association), founded in 1984, publishes a precise specification: type 00 flour, fresh yeast only (never dried), sea salt, spring water. The dough must be kneaded by hand and left to rise slowly — ideally for 24 hours at a low temperature. This long fermentation develops complex flavors in the dough and creates the network of bubbles that gives the crust its characteristic lightness and chewiness. Rushing the process — adding more yeast to speed things up, or using the dough after only an hour — produces bread, not pizza. The difference is time, and the Neapolitans have never been in a hurry about it.

The toppings of a true Margherita are equally specified. The tomato should be San Marzano — a plum tomato grown in the volcanic soil at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, south of Naples. San Marzano tomatoes have a lower water content and higher sugar concentration than ordinary plum tomatoes, and a flavor of remarkable depth. They are DOP protected (Denominazione di Origine Protetta), which means San Marzano tomatoes can only come from a specific area in the Sarno River valley. The mozzarella should be either fior di latte (cow's milk mozzarella) or mozzarella di bufala Campana DOP — the latter, made from the milk of water buffalo grazing in the marshes of Campania, has a slightly tangy, richer flavor and a creamier texture. Basil must be fresh — never dried, never applied before baking.

One detail that surprises many visitors to Naples: the center of a true Neapolitan pizza is intentionally soft, almost wet, and not fully crispy. This is not a mistake — it is a defining characteristic. The pizza is designed to be eaten with a fork and knife (or folded in four — 'a portafoglio', like a wallet — for street eating). The crispy, charred cornicione and the yielding center are a deliberate contrast. This softness comes from the very high heat of the wood-fired oven (430–480°C), which cooks the crust in 60–90 seconds while leaving the center moist. A domestic oven at 250°C takes 7–10 minutes and produces a drier result — still delicious, but different.